ut. x - A variety of Interpreters hath made this Text much more dif- A $owehs./ © , ficulr than it 3s. Certainly nothing can appear more reaſonablethan — — .. @.. "ro interpret the Pronoun in the front of the Verſe relatively, and to ferch the antecedent from the former Verſe. They, that is, the Pro- phers and the Prieſts wandred up and down the Streets like blind Men, eing ſpiritually blind, polluting themſelves with blood, either the. of the Children which they flew, or the ju? Men mentioned, the laughter of whom they either encouraged, or at leaſt id iſcourage ; ſo as one could not touch a Propher or Prieſt, "bur he muſt be legally polluted, and there were ſo many of them, "that Men could nor walk i the Streets but they muſt touch ſome of "chem, Some thinking the Diſcourſe of the Prieſts done with, in- *terpret They of the blind Men in the City who could not walk up be gr on; the Streets without touching the Bodies of ſome thar -were ſlain. Others interpret the words of the common People: Who during the Siegez could no more avoid touching Bodies ſlain /and fo polluting themſelves with blood, than blind men could, ſo as they abhorred to! touch their own Garments. The firſt ſenſe emeth ro me moſt natural and eaſe. 15 They cried untothem, Depart ye ||, ;t 3s unclean, depart, depart,” touch not when they tled away and wandred y: they ſaid amongſt che heathen, They ſhal
'no-more ſojourn there, Py
» WU wa - =
-R BE
makes them as much divided in the ſenſe of this > Sam. 1. 10. 2 Kings 11. | Verſe. Either the Jews that made Conſcience of keeping the Law a« d- | gainſt touching dead Bodies,cried to the other Fews to lcave the City as
it ſeparate from his Brethren, Deut- 33. 16. could not ſtay in it without polluting themſylves. | ran{late 1 ſep n ou ol lignifieth her ſeparated | called to them to that purpoles Or their Enemies ſpake in that places of | Language to them. z For their Enemies had reſolved they ſhould
fot known in the ſtreets 0: their skin cleaverh to their | 6 it is withered, it is become hke a ſtick p. |
*. 0 aA), rant re ag thy EOS woe bs a» 8
2 EMIA RH. Chap, ty. y The various application of the Proncun, 7h y by interpreters | as of th- tormer
/cpb, | themſelves did, rhe City being now ſo full of dead Bodies that they
Or the Prieits
not ſtay in Jeruſalem.
16 The || anger of the LORD hzth divided them, [| Or, face, he will no more regard them a: they reſpe&ted not the perſons of the prieſts,they favoured not the elders 5;
a Theſe words ſeem to be the Language of their Enemi*«s rri- umphing over them, as diſcerning that their God was pruvoked := gainit them, and would have no more regard or xefpett unto them : and that b they had miſuſed his Prophets which agreerh with 2
Inſomuch that thoſe who before knew them by ; Chrox. 36. 16. But others rather think thele latter words ( if nor the
former alſo) are the Prophets words expreſſive of the cauſe of th: ir miſeries, viz. The Lords anger who had divided them, ec. und the effett of it. Their Enemies having no regard to the moſt grave and venerable Perions amonglt them.
17 As for us, * our eyes as yet failed ſor our vain , help : in our watching, we have wathed for a nation 5 tbat could not ſave vs c. Ezck. 297
c That is, in expeQation of the Egyptians, whom they waited for 16 fo raiſe the S'ege, it was a long time before they came, and when they did comethey could do them no ſervice at all, Jer. 37. 5, 7,8.
18 * They hunt our ſteps that we cannor go in our
IA. 30;
- --w Nor for their ſins alone who were the fa!ſe Prophets, and Baa! s' -Priefte,but for their {ins in an eminent degree,they were theRinglead-
ſtreets : our end is near, our days are fulfilled, for our : 2 Kings end is come d. Eo aa | a The Caalaeans imployed in the ſiege are ſo cloſe upon us, that
we cannot ſtir a foot about our bulinetles,nor look out at our Doors,
nor walk ſafely in the Streets; we are ruined, there is an end of our
_ ſtate; our period is come, and the time of our proſperity is e-
apieds
I9 Ourperſecutors are * ſwifter than the eagles of the * neue; heaven, they purſued us upon the mountains, they laid 28. 49- wait for us in the wilderneſs e.
e Our Enemies who purſued us to deſtroy ns were very ſwifr in their purſuit of us, ( «s ſwift as an Eagle, was a proverbial Expreſſion ) we could no where be ſafe, if we ſought retuge in the Mountains they followed us thither, if we fled from them into the Wildernels, they laid wait for us there.
20 The breath of our noſtrils, the anointed of the LORD * was taken in their pits f, of whom we *] '
- . ; er.52.8. _ Under his ſhadow we ſhal live amongtt the hea- tnEnN F.
- Tha he calls ſome Prince here the breath of their noſtrils, that iS their Life, Gen, 2.7, is, out of doubt, though ſome of the Jews would have it underſtoofi of Fofah, yer who ſo conſidereth that he was not taken but ſlain, and that not by the Chaleans but by the Egyptians 23 years before the City was taken, will ſee reaſon to cons clude that he mezneth Zexekiah, who though a bad man yet was a King, and of Davia's line, and afforded ſome proteCtion to the Jews.
We promiſed our ſelves that though th-Land of Judah was encom- patled with Pagan Nations, yet through Zedekiah's valour and good conduCt in Government we ſhould live comfortably, he being a co- vering and refrefhing to us, but ſaith the Prophet, he alſo is fallen into Enemies hands,
21 Rejoyce and be plad, O daughter of Edom, that dwelleſt in the land of Uz 5, * the cup allo ſhal paſs *Jer: 25: through unto thee 3 : thou ſhalt be drunken and fhalt 15,16, 21/ make thy ſelf naked &,
h The Edemites were deſcended from Eſau the elder Brother of
Jacob, and dwelled in a part of Arabia, that obtained the*Name o© Uz, probably from Ut the Son of Diſhan, who deſcended from Seir, Gen, 36. 20, 28+ they out of their old hatred to the Jews rejoyced at their ruine, as we learn from the Prophecy of Obadiah, who upon this account was ſent to Propheſic againſt them, the Prophet here tronically ſaith, Rejoyce in the ſame ſente as Eccleſ, 11, 9g. Selomon bids the young Man rejoyce, but their joy ſhould be bur for alittle time. # For God was dealing out the Cup of his Fury te more than the Jewiſh Nation, and amongſt others ro the' Edomtes., k And they ſhould be filled, and intoxicated with it, and make themſelves naked as drunken Men ſometimes do in their Debavches.